INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 190 member countries. Our role is to enable police around the world to work together to make the world a safer place. Our high-tech infrastructure of technical and operational support helps meet the growing challenges of fighting crime in the 21st century.

This is where you will find the latest news and multimedia from INTERPOL. Read our news stories and speeches; see the Organization in action through videos and photo galleries; and download our fact sheets, brochures and annual reports.

Our global police communications channels and internationally recognized alert systems allow police around the world to share data instantly and securely. A 24-hour contact point and specialized teams provide targeted support to serious crime or disaster incidents.

Fugitive investigations

Fugitives pose a serious threat to public safety worldwide. They are mobile (often travelling between countries on stolen or fraudulent travel documents), and opportunistic, frequently financing their continued flight from the law through further criminal activities.

Fugitives also undermine the world’s criminal justice systems. They may have been charged with a violation of the law but not been arrested. They may have been released on bail and then fled to avoid prosecution or perhaps they have escaped from prison. When fugitives flee, cases are not adjudicated, convicted criminals fail to meet their obligations, and crime victims are denied justice.

INTERPOL's role

INTERPOL provides proactive and systematic assistance to member countries and other international entities in order to locate and arrest fugitives who cross international boundaries. Activities include:

- Providing investigative support to member countries in international fugitive investigations;

Rwandan Genocide Fugitives Project

The ﻿Rwandan Genocide Fugitives Project was set up in 2004 with the Rwandan National Prosecution Service and the ICTR to target the outstanding fugitives wanted by these two bodies. Since then, more than 40 fugitives who were the subjects of INTERPOL Red Notices have been arrested.

Project Basic

Project Basic (Broadening Analysis on Serious International Crimes) targets fugitives wanted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Within this framework, INTERPOL cooperates with national authorities and international institutions to locate, arrest and develop information concerning individuals suspected of these crimes.

In 2013, more than 50 individuals wanted for war crimes by various countries were arrested or located in different parts of the world.

Red Notices for wanted persons

One of our most powerful tools in tracking international fugitives is the ﻿Red Notice. This seeks the provisional arrest of a wanted person with a view to extradition and is circulated to police in all our member countries. Red notices contain identification details and judicial information about the wanted person.

LYON, France – More than 27.5 tonnes of drugs have been seized in Operation Lionfish II, an INTERPOL-led initiative targeting the illicit trafficking of drugs and firearms by organized crime groups across Central America and the Caribbean. The seized drugs included cocaine, cannabis and heroin, with the cocaine haul alone valued at almost USD 1.3 billion....

LYON, France – A public appeal as part of an INTERPOL operation focusing on individuals wanted for environmental crimes has led to the arrest of a fugitive in Zambia.Ben Simasiku had fled from Botswana in 2012 after he and three other suspected illegal ivory traders were arrested in possession of 17 cut pieces of elephant tusks weighing approximately 115...

LYON, France – An INTERPOL operation targeting fugitives wanted for environmental crimes is calling on the public worldwide to help locate them and bring them to justice.Operation Infra (International Fugitive Round Up and Arrest) Terra was launched by the world police body on 6 October, focusing on 139 fugitives wanted by 36 member countries for crimes i...

LYON, France – The arrest and positive identification in Ecuador of Dritan Rexhepi, the subject of several INTERPOL Red Notices for internationally wanted individuals and a target of a global INTERPOL fugitive operation, has been hailed by the world police body following international cooperation via INTERPOL.
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The Albanian national, aged 34, escap...

KIGALI, Rwanda – On the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, a joint campaign of the United Nations, Rwanda, the US and INTERPOL to track down the remaining perpetrators will seek the public’s assistance in locating those responsible for the tragedy.Launched on 24 July in Kigali, Rwanda, the initiative involves the UN Mechanism for International Trib...

KIGALI, Rwanda – Identifying ways for enhanced cooperation and information exchange to identify and prosecute individuals who continue to evade justice for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, is the focus of a three-day meeting in Kigali.Under the theme ‘Closing the Impunity Gap’, the three day (14 – 16 April) INTERPOL 6th International expe...

LYON, France – A Slovak national wanted for rape has been arrested in Thailand following close collaboration between INTERPOL and its National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in Bratislava and Bangkok.Jozef Polonec is the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice, or international wanted persons alert, issued at the request of Slovakia when he fled the country after he wa...

LYON, France – Enhancing fugitive investigations and developing best practice was the focus of a workshop at the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters for officers from North Africa and the Middle East.The five-day (13 – 17 January) meeting brought together 24 officials dealing with international search requests and fugitives in order to better develo...

LYON, France – INTERPOL is calling for the public’s assistance in helping to track down international fugitives linked to organized crime networks and wanted for offences including murder and drug trafficking.Operation Infra (International Fugitive Round Up and Arrest) Americas was launched in Costa Rica on 18 November, involving 46 countries and territor...

LYON, France – The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has commended INTERPOL for its ongoing and critical role in the location and apprehension of fugitives wanted in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.Following the recent release of a manual on ‘The Tracking and Arrest of Fugitives from International Criminal Justice:...

LYON, France – A suspect in mass killings at the time of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre has been extradited from Israel to Bosnia and Herzegovina following international collaboration via INTERPOL.The extradition of Aleksandar Cvetković followed a request by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina investigating his alleged role as a member of a fi...

LYON, France – A suspected international match-fixer wanted by Italian authorities and subject of a confidential INTERPOL Red Notice, or international wanted persons alert, has been arrested in Milan following close cooperation between Italian and Singaporean Police working through their INTERPOL National Central Bureaus and INTERPOL Headquarters in Lyon,...

LYON, France – A Moldovan national wanted for attempted murder in Romania and the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice has been arrested by police in Russia.Vitalie Proca, who is accused of the attempted murder of a man in Bucharest, was arrested on Wednesday by officers with the Moscow Criminal Investigation Unit and the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NC...

LYON, France – Richard Ammar Chichakli, an alleged associate of arms dealer Viktor Bout and subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice issued at the request of US authorities for a range of offences including money laundering, fraud and conspiring to violate economic sanctions, has been arrested in Australia.Chichakli, a US – Syrian citizen, is alleged to have con...